Larry Summers Apologizes to Harvard Students After Epstein Emails Reveal

Larry Summers, former president of Harvard University and former U.S. Treasury Secretary, opened his Harvard economics lecture in November 2025 with a public apology to his students for his correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein - correspondence that emails released by the House Oversight Committee showed continued through the day before Epstein’s arrest on federal sex trafficking of minors charges in July 2019. Summers told his class he was expressing “shame” over the exchanges and had committed to stepping back from public activities, but said he intended to fulfill his teaching obligations and asked for the students’ permission to proceed. Harvard subsequently announced a new investigation into ties between Epstein and university affiliates.

What the Emails Revealed

The House Oversight Committee emails reportedly showed Summers maintaining contact with Epstein for years, including seeking personal advice and discussing professional concerns - such as the consequences of “cancel culture” related to his interactions with women. The correspondence spanned years after Epstein’s 2008 Florida conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution and continued until the eve of his 2019 federal arrest.

Senator Elizabeth Warren publicly called on Harvard to remove Summers from his teaching role, stating: “Larry Summers has demonstrated that he cannot be trusted. Period. That includes no trust for the advice he gives or for teaching students anywhere… Larry Summers has demonstrated how unfit he is for positions of trust, and that applies to corporate boards, universities and policy makers.” Harvard opened a new investigation into Epstein-affiliated university relationships.

The Classroom Moment

Video of Summers’ opening remarks went viral. In the footage, Summers addresses students enrolled in “The Political Economy of Globalization” and says: “I just want to say before we start that it’s not easy for me to be here. Some of you will have seen my statement of regret, expressing my shame with respect to what I did in communication with Mr. Epstein… with your permission, we’re going to go forward and talk about the material.” Student reactions were divided: some expressed support for him continuing to teach; others were opposed.

A separate TikTok video captured a co-instructor announcing that Summers had stepped down from teaching. One student shouted they would not miss his “insights and wisdom”; another disagreed.

Professional Fallout

Summers resigned from the board of OpenAI shortly after the emails became public. He also lost his opinion column at The New York Times and several think tank affiliations. Student groups petitioned Harvard to revoke his tenure, arguing his continued presence was incompatible with the university’s commitments around sexual violence. Harvard’s investigation into his relationship with Epstein was ongoing at the time of reporting.

References: Harvard Professor Opens Class by Apologizing for Involvement with Epstein | Slutty Harvard Professor Larry Summers Humiliated as He Explains Epstein Scandal to Class | How Larry Summers’ Harvard class reacted to his co-instructor saying his ‘insights and wisdom’ will be missed